The boss of Italian defence giant Leonardo has slammed the door shut on the possibility of Germany and France joining the Tempest fighter jet programme.
Germany’s own collaboration with France on a sixth generation fighter jet has collapsed, raising speculation that it could join the rival global combat air programme (GCAP), a collaboration between the UK, Italy and Japan.
But Lorenzo Mariani – whose firm Leonardo is part of GCAP - said it would be too disruptive for Germany to join at this stage and the industrial powerhouse would be unlikely to sign up to a junior role in the partnership.
The comments came after Canada signed up as an ‘observer’ to the project.
A computer generated image of the Tempest fighter jet
